


The Letter

by LeonoraChris



Category: NCIS
Genre: Abduction, Alternate Universe, Angst, Drama, Family, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Private Investigator Tony
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-12
Updated: 2014-04-15
Packaged: 2018-01-19 01:19:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1449988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeonoraChris/pseuds/LeonoraChris
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Years later, after his girls were killed, Gibbs finds a letter. Shannon has kept a huge secret from him...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Glow60](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Glow60).



>   
>  _The story and any possible original characters are mine.  
>  NCIS, its own characters and canon aren't._

"Oh no," she whispered as she sat there in a small and dirty restroom of a small and just as unclean diner. With her hands trembling, she took out another test. Then another. And another. Five tests later she started smiling, feeling both fear and joy. Five of them and they all told the same. Sure, she would still need to see the doctor, but what were the odds? "I'm pregnant..."

Shannon stood and picked up everything from the floor where she had dropped them. As she was walking to her car, she realized she had started crying. How was she going to tell Jethro? They were not ready. Engaged, but not yet even set a date for the wedding. With the student loans, which she still had to pay off for years to come, there was no way they could afford this, and her small apartment was no place for a child. With some uncertainty and hope, Shannon remembered her mother. Surely she would help her. Going back in the diner, she asked if she could use their phone so that she could call her mother.

Going to her mother turned out to be a huge mistake; maybe she should've seen it coming, she didn't know. Her mother had been against her and Jethro getting married since the beginning, to the point where she even refused to meet Shannon if he was around. So now Shannon sat in the living room of her childhood home, hopeful that her mother's proud and stubborn nature would give in just enough to feel love toward her unborn grandchild, her own flesh and blood.

Joann Fielding sat down heavily after being told the news. Her little girl, pregnant? She had known that the Gibbs boy was no good for her, she knew it, but had Shannon listened to her? No, and this was the result.

"Mom. Please say something." Shannon stared at her mother and worried what was going through the woman's mind right now.

"I'll help you."

Nothing could express the flood of relief running through Shannon at those words. "Thank you. I don't know what I was going to do if—"

"I will help you get rid of it."

The color left Shannon's face, along with the beginning of a smile, and she stared at her mother in shock. "W-what? Mom..."

"You are still young, Shannon. You have a whole life ahead of you. Don't tie yourself down to the likes of Jethro Gibbs."

Shannon stood up, furious and upset. Not believing what she heard. "Mom, I love him! He's out there—somewhere—maybe fighting for his life as we speak! He's a good Marine and a good man and I will not tolerate you saying another bad word about him! If you do, I..."

"You what, Shannon?" Joann asked with a face that held no emotions, as if she already knew what it would be, the next words coming out of her daughter's mouth.

"I... I will not want to have anything to do with you. You won't be invited to our wedding."

Joann was quiet and then nodded. "Very well. If that's what you choose. That-that man over your own mother. If you change your mind, you know where to find me."

With her eyes throwing flames at her mother, Shannon looked at her one last time. "That's not going to happen. No matter what, I'm going to keep this child and we'll make it without your help. You'll see. The day will come when you wish to see your grandchild and realize that you wanted to kill this precious little life for the sake of your own stupid pride. Whatever you may think of Jethro, the child is still _your_ flesh and blood. I can't believe how I could have thought even for a moment that you had any love in you. I'm-I'm not you. And God help me if I ever will be." When Joann didn't say anything, wiping away the tears she hadn't even know she'd been shedding, Shannon picked up her bag. "Goodbye, mother."

As the door slammed closed—the only outward reminder of the conversation—Joann stared at her hands for a while, until she finally covered her face with them, crying silently.

* * *

Shannon didn't know what to do... By now she was five months pregnant and everything was going downhills fast. On top of everything else happening to her, she now lost her job. It had already been hard, trying to pay all the bills and after this she would surely even lose her small apartment. Her only comfort had been getting a letter from Jethro. She didn't know what she could write back so she had simply written that she had a little surprise waiting for him when he returned. And God, she prayed he did return. For some time she'd been thinking about contacting Jackson Gibbs, but the hurt of her own mother's reaction and rejection was still raw. She didn't have enough confidence to face the old man. What would he think and how would _he_ react? And her friends... How funny was it that when you needed them the most, you couldn't find any; everyone suddenly so 'busy' all the time.

Shannon wiped away her tears. It seemed like all she did lately was cry. "We're going to find a way, baby Junior. Somehow... I know we will... We _have_ to..." Sitting on the bench in a park, among the golden hay, she saw from the corner of her eye someone sitting next to her. She hoped that the person would leave. She had chosen this spot for a reason; it was the one people rarely chose since it was so secluded.

"Excuse me," a man with a deep voice spoke, with an accent she couldn't place. She looked suspiciously at the handsome man, dressed in some expensive clothes. He was charming alright, but she was way past trusting anyone. If her own mother couldn't be trusted, why would strangers? The man didn't seem to notice her suspicious glare. "I couldn't help but notice that... Is everything alright?"

"No." Shannon sighed and started to get up when the man held out his hand.

"I apologize. By no means did I mean to come out as some creep. My name is Anthony." He still held out his hand for her and after a moment of hesitation, she took it.

"Shannon..."

"Please. Sit. I won't be here for a long time. I'm waiting for my wife." Anthony smiled and while she still wasn't completely trusting, she found herself slowly relaxing in his presence. There was something so likable about him. What was it called? Charm. Some people just had it.

"Your wife?" Shannon asked as she was sitting comfortably again.

"Yes. We are visiting a friend and while I was doing some business with him, she went to meet friends of her own." He glanced toward her belly, which she was now covering with her arms in a protective manner. "I believe they called the meeting a baby shower."

"Oh. Your wife is pregnant?"

"Five months."

Shannon smiled softly. "So am I."

Anthony nodded knowingly. "Why were you looking so sad?"

Shannon sighed. Well, what harm would it do to share her troubles? Certainly not make her situation any worse than it already was... She started talking and the man frowned few times, smiling encouragingly when she looked like she couldn't continue speaking. He proved to be a perfect listener and by the time Shannon was done, she felt much lighter and she even smiled. "Thank you. I have to admit that talking to you has helped. I _know_ I'll find some way to get through this. Somehow."

Anthony looked thoughtful. "Perhaps I can help?"

Shannon looked at him with suspicion again. "No. It's fine."

"Shannon, by helping you, I will also be helping myself. You need to think about your child." When she hesitated, he smiled charmingly. "I am a busy man and I don't like leaving my wife on her own for such long hours, even for days sometimes, with no company other than some occasional hired help. I want to hire you to keep company for my wife while I'm gone. You two would have so much in common and things to talk about."

It did sound pretty nice, but Shannon couldn't get rid of the feeling that this was too good to be true. "I don't know..."

"Just think about it." He stood up, slowly making his way away from the bench and from her.

Shannon swallowed hard. She knew this could fix all her problems at once. Well, all but her relationship with her mother... And she was so desperate. "Wait!" She never saw the odd smile on the man's face.

* * *

It _had_ been too perfect. That alone should have made her realize something was off.

For months she spent long hours with the wife, who for some reason was awfully fixated on Shannon's pregnancy, even more than her own. The women could spend hours after hours, just looking through baby things or choosing names for their children. By the time Shannon knew her baby was a boy, she couldn't have been happier. Sure, a daughter would have been just as joyful, but somehow there just was something special about giving Jethro a son as a firstborn. Call it old-fashioned or whatever, but all that mattered was how happy she was. After looking through several names after names, she had finally decided to simply name her son Anthony Jethro Gibbs; to honor their savior and little Anthony's daddy. Anthony DiNozzo's wife had looked at her strangely when she explained her choice and the reasons behind it.

_"That is... honorable of you,"_ she had said. Odd thing to say, especially the way it sounded coming from her, but Shannon didn't think much of it. She simply kept her end of the bargain and the money kept coming, which she hadn't even used yet as most of her needs were being taken care of by the couple, including her small apartment's rent.

Then came the day. The day when her beautiful baby boy decided it was time to come out; a week too early, but he was healthy and so beautiful. So perfect. Perfect little toes and perfect little fingers. The most beautiful eyes and a cute little nose. She was alone when she gave birth—several hours of pain and agony—but the moment she finally got to hold that perfect little gift from God... Everything else faded away and she was the happiest woman in the whole world. There was nothing else like it, the joy and love that saw no end. Shannon didn't even wonder why soon after the birth Anthony called her and told they—he and his wife—were leaving the country and that they no longer needed her. She had more than she could have ever hoped for so she didn't even care.

And that's how she was now in this situation, a few months later, crying and begging for the man to give her child back.

Shannon had just finished feeding her little boy, when there was a knock at the door. She'd been surprised to see Anthony DiNozzo standing there with two other men. With a nod, he sent the other two to hold Shannon, while he went to take the sleeping baby, which was when all hell broke loose. With a crying baby and a screaming and crying mother, Anthony DiNozzo was about to lose his patience. Even the two men he had hired for this couldn't really stop her from trying to get to her child. A desperate mother was a lot stronger than she looked.

"I beg you, Anthony! Don't do this! _Why_ are you doing this..? Give him back!"

He glared at her. "He's mine now. What do you think all that money was for?"

Shannon paled when the realization hit her and suddenly she was able to place all the pieces of the puzzle in place and she saw the big picture. "Why..?"

"My wife wants a child so I'm giving her one." He shrugged like it was normal, only business, and for him it most likely was. He turned around to leave.

"No!" Shannon was screaming again. "Give him back! I'll— I still have your money! I'll give it back to you! _Please_..! You can have anything but him..! I... I have a job now! With some time, I can pay you twice as much!"

Anthony snapped his fingers and one of the men hit her. "Calm down or I will do the same to the boy. Or worse."

Shannon froze in fear for her child and even the men looked startled. Anthony smiled grimly. "Don't try to find us. I have friends in high places. I'm sure you don't wish to find one day pieces of your baby on your doorstep."

"You... You're a monster," she whispered, but was this time too much in shock to even start screaming again and noticing this, the men left quickly.

Hours later she was crying again, after storming on the street barefoot and trying to find her child. This couldn't be happening... And what was she going to tell Jethro?


	2. Chapter 2

Leroy Jethro Gibbs, a man who had crossed the golden border of the age 50, was way past even trying to find happiness. After the deaths of his wife and daughter, he had tried it many times; three marriages, all ending with an ugly divorce, and way more other attempts at starting relationships than he dared to count. So while he still did see some woman now or then—redheads of course—he had pretty much given up trying anything serious, which was the number one reason why his relationships failed in these days; women wanting more than he could or was willing to give.

Losing the love of his life, and his baby girl, was still something he could not truly live with. In order to survive, he had become numb. From the outside he simply looked like someone who was usually in a bad mood. Grumpy and scary, some said. However, he had come to terms with the reality that this was his life. It was what it was and he was now pretty much married to his job at the NCIS. He didn't ask for anything anymore, because what was lost would never be returned to him. So when he one day decided to finally go through all the boxes that contained everything that was Shannon's and Kelly's, he hadn't been prepared for what he would find.

Mad at his friends for making him do this, Gibbs scowled at the mountain of boxes in his and Shannon's bedroom, and he knew there was more boxes in Kelly's room. He had only a very faint memory of throwing everything in the boxes without a second glance. In all honestly, back then he'd been too drunk to even remember why he had decided to do that in the first place. It wasn't like he had ever been going to take them anywhere.

"I'll show them," he muttered as he took one of the boxes and sat down on the floor with it. " _Can't let go of the past.._. What do they know?" Okay, so perhaps he had spent some time with his bottle of bourbon first, before finally coming up here. Just a few mouthfuls for some courage. Now, looking at the photo album in his hands, he suddenly realized how dry his mouth was again.

Two hours later it was 3 AM and he had gone through half of the boxes in the room, and his bottle of bourbon. Opening another box, he took a sip from the bottle, only to realize it was empty. Grumbling, he stood up to go and find more, when his eyes saw something he had seen Shannon hiding from him countless times, never allowing him to see it. Her diary. In his drunken condition, he didn't think it might be rude to read a woman's diary of all things. Picking up the small baby blue book, he sat back down. Trying to imagine her fingers running over the covers, he mimicked the movements. Opening the book, he froze.

It was a diary indeed; a baby diary. Measurements. Weight... He let out a drunken sob as his fingers traced the tiny hand and footprints and the small photograph of a sleeping baby. He had missed so many important moments of Kelly's life and now he regretted it more than anything... At the back of his drunken mind he was wondering why Shannon had kept a second baby diary and why was it blue; Kelly was a girl, so it should be pretty pink like the colors in her bedroom.

It would seem that his friends were right after all. He was definitely _not_ over the loss.

Gibbs blinked several times, trying to get back his focus. It was hard enough when he wasn't drunk and emotionally distraught, but now not only was the small text all blurry, it was also dancing on the pages.

"Anthony Jethro Gibbs..." he finally read out loud. Gibbs felt suddenly his heart rate go up as he started to actually look at the pages in the book for the first time. Suddenly nothing added up and only then he realized... It wasn't Kelly's baby diary. "Oh, Shannon..." Gibbs swallowed hard and he was scared by what this could mean. Had she cheated on him while he'd been away? _God, no. Please say it's not true_...

In his deep agony, added to the one already there, Gibbs threw the book at the wall. He wished he had never listened to his friends. It would have been better if he had never found out... Then it suddenly hit him; the baby's name. Crawling to the book, Gibbs picked it up and sat with his back against the wall. Could it be? Maybe? But surely Shannon would have told him... "Please, Shannon. Give me something. I need to know."

Be it a sign or just his drunken clumsiness, but Gibbs dropped the book again and this time he saw the envelope, sealed and having been carefully hidden in between the pages. It was for him. Suddenly afraid to open it, he just held it in his hands. He could get rid of both this and the diary. If he was lucky, he would not remember anything by the morning... Shaking his head, Gibbs opened the envelope and carefully pulled out the letter. He knew he would most likely have to read it again once he wasn't drunk, but for now this desperate squinting of his eyes would have to do.

_**'My dearest Jethro.** _

_**I guess something must have happened to me, since I wasn't there protecting my little treasure.** _  
_**I know you have seen me looking at this so many times, but you have no idea just how many times.** _  
_**Next to you and Kelly, this is my biggest treasure. It's the only thing I still have left of our son.** _  
_**Yes. You read it right. Our son. I'm sorry for never telling you the truth. It was wrong, but I couldn't do it.** _

_**Do you remember years ago when you came home, before we got married?** _  
_**Instead of finding out what my little surprise was, you had to deal with my emotional breakdown.** _  
_**You thought it was because I had missed you so bad. And I did.** _  
_**During the time you were gone, I found out I was pregnant and after that everything went wrong.** _  
_**My mother wouldn't help me; she wanted to get rid of the baby. My friends were gone and I had no money.** _  
_**I didn't want to worry you when there was nothing you could have done from where you were.** _  
_**I was five months pregnant when I was with no way out of the situation. No money and no work. Then I met him.** _

_**Oh God, forgive me... I was so stupid, Jethro. He seemed like such a nice man. And rich.** _  
_**His wife was pregnant too, or so they told me, and he offered me money. I now wish I had never taken it.** _  
_**In exchange I had to keep his wife some company, while he was out doing his business.** _  
_**It seemed simple enough and to me he was like a Good Samaritan. If only I had known the truth...** _  
_**I even named our son after him, in his 'honor', the man who saved us when no one else would.** _

_**For some time life was good and I couldn't have been happier. I didn't have to worry about money either.** _  
_**Then little Anthony was born. Oh, our precious little boy. I can still feel him in my arms sometimes.** _  
_**And his eyes... Although I have only ever seen her in the pictures, I think he's got your mother's eyes.** _  
_**He has the most beautiful green eyes, so full of life and love, and when he looks at you...** _  
_**I swear, Jethro, you'd think he's wiser than his years, or in this case, months. Such intelligent little guy.** _  
_**When he smiles, you can't help but fall in love with him all over again. It lights up the whole room.** _

_**Three months, Jethro. That's how much time I had with him. I think it was so that I could nurse him.** _  
_**Then one day he walks into my apartment, like he owns it. I find out that his wife was never pregnant.** _  
_**Not that he straight out said anything, but by then I had stopped being stupid. But it was too late.** _  
_**He just took him! He had two men with him and they held me while he walked to the crib like it was his right.** _  
_**No matter what I did, I couldn't find them; our boy. No one helped me. The police must've been bought.** _

_**I never used the money I was given. I couldn't. Not after I found out it was money meant to buy our child.** _  
_**I opened another account for the money with our boy's name. The information is on the other side of this letter.** _  
_**Do with it whatever you think is right. I couldn't touch it.** _ _**Not even when we needed the money; I'm so sorry.  
** _

_**I never told you, Jethro, because I've been too ashamed and hurt. It's wrong, but I just couldn't.** _  
_**All I can hope is that our baby boy was given a happy life. It's the only way I can keep going, by believing it.**_ _  
**I hope that one day you will find it in you to forgive me and what I let happen. You and Kelly both.** _  
_**She never knew she has an older brother somewhere. She always wanted a brother or a sister.** _  
**_I still can't believe God allowed me to have another child, after I failed our first. It's more than what I deserve._**

_**Sometimes I dream about our family. Whole family. We are so happy together. It's how our life should have been.** _  
_**Whatever you are now thinking, Jethro, I'll always love you and our children. And I am so sorry.** _

_**—Shannon'** _

* * *

The next morning came painfully fast for Gibbs. He had finally passed out on the floor, after reading through the letter and diary over and over again, studying it as much as his drunken mind let him, and then he'd been drinking some more. With a grunt, Gibbs tried to ignore the opening of the front door, the heavy steps climbing up the stairs and then coming in the room.

"Jethro... Look at you... You did not have to do this on your own. One of us would have been more than happy to keep you company, be the supporting shoulder. It's not a weakness to ask for help."

"Go away, Ducky," Gibbs muttered through his clenched teeth. He kept his eyes firmly closed and tried to ignore both Ducky and the headache.

Ducky tutted. "It would seem, my dear friend, that you are in need of a hangover remedy."

"'m fine, Duck. Just leave."

"Either it's me or I will have to allow Abigail inside the house. She spent the night in her car, outside your house. Did you know that? One word from me and she will come in."

The very thought of the very loud and hyper goth with her need to hug him, made Gibbs sit up fast. Or as fast as he could since his head was killing him.

Shaking his head, Ducky sighed. "Go take a shower. I will make you some coffee and hangover friendly breakfast."

"Not hungry."

"I was not asking, Jethro."

Grumbling something about friends who didn't know when to leave him be, Gibbs slowly stood up. Suddenly he remembered everything he had discovered last night. With anxious smile he looked at Ducky.

"What is it?" The old doctor could see that there was something his friend wanted to say, but it seemed to be hard for the man to put into words.

With a soft voice and soft, almost scared, smile that was foreign on his face, Gibbs spoke, "I have a son..."


	3. Chapter 3

After getting over the shock and awe, and another full bottle of bourbon, Gibbs hadn't wasted any time trying to find his son; using any and all favors he could and then some more, he had finally even taken time off from work. It was more than six months later when Gibbs finally found a lead, most likely cold by then, but he wasn't going to not follow it. Still, he hadn't expected for his search to take him to Hawaii.

While the slimeball had been hard to track down, he at least now had a name; Anthony DiNozzo, a conman with many red flags under his name. The man used to be rich, before his assets had been frozen by the FBI more than twenty years ago. However, he disappeared five years ago and there was no information about a 'son'. As for DiNozzo's wife... Well, it was hard to tell since the man had a new one every few years, or less, and even more girlfriends.

Standing by the gates of a huge beach house, Gibbs glanced at the piece of paper he was holding. After the last known location of DiNozzo had been in Hawaii, he'd let Abby dig out someone who lived there and who could help him. Or rather, she had done it without asking and made Ducky give him the information. Not that he wanted it or even needed, but he didn't have the heart to tell her no when she wanted to help. Plus, Ducky could be _very_ persuading if he chose to be. There were times Gibbs thought how good it would be to have Ducky do some of their interrogations; few threats of bodily harm in medical terms, with a sweet smile and calm voice, was far more effective than you'd think.

"May I help you?"

Gibbs looked up startled and saw a man staring at him from behind the gates. "I'm Jethro Gibbs. I called before. Are you—?"

"No. He's late. He said you can wait inside."

Blinking for a bit at the rude tone, Gibbs allowed the man to show him inside the luxurious building, although only after Gibbs showed his ID.

"Don't touch anything. He will be back soon."

Raising his brows, Gibbs wandered around the grand living room, which could easily fit in his entire house. He was doing well with the ' _don't touch anything_ ' part, but then after almost two hours had passed, Gibbs was 'starting' to feel his level of frustration raise and the level of his patience had dropped dangerously low. And he needed some coffee. _Now_. He wasn't the one who was made to wait; if there was someone who made others do the waiting, it was he. And he at least usually had good reasons for that, like making the criminals wait in the interrogation room, or make his ex-wives and Fornell come to him when he refused to pick up his phone.

Sitting on the couch, Gibbs looked at the time again and with a frustrated sigh he got up and walked past the grand piano in the middle of the room, clearly meant to be as the focus point of the whole room. He entered another room through the door, which he thought would take him out, but instead he found himself walking around the house, lost. All these doors and seemingly no way out. How had he gotten the wrong door in the first place?

By the time he found himself in a big kitchen, Gibbs didn't waste any time making his way to the shiny coffee maker. Much to his frustration, there was no way for him to figure out how the thing worked, being one of those fancy gadgets that costs a fortune. He muttered some swear words and walked to the fridge, thinking that he at the very least deserved to get something to eat after all the waiting. However, inside the fridge was nothing but one bottle of water, one bottle of beer and one old cheese. Just what kind of man lived in here? You'd think in a house this big, there would be _something_ you could eat.

"I don't keep any food in there. The cheese was left by a guest," an amused voice spoke from behind him.

Gibbs turned around and his words died on his lips when he saw a young man in his twenties; green eyes sparkled mischievously and his tanned face was full of laughter as he stared at his guest with a smile.

"All the food in this house is kept in the freezer." The _kid_ walked to the freezer and opened it. It looked like it was filled with nothing but frozen pizza. While Gibbs himself wasn't one to care that much about his diet, he couldn't help but think how unhealthy it had to be, eating nothing but pizza... "You were hungry? And no, I don't eat only pizza, but I'm rarely at home and when I am, I want to relax and not do any real cooking." When Gibbs stared long and hard, the young man shrugged. "It's hard to know what you think when you don't talk, old man."

" _Hey_ ," Gibbs grumbled.

The young man grinned and put a pizza in the oven; one of those fancier things that didn't need to be preheated. "Don't worry about it too much. You're Jethro Gibbs, right? You called me before." He held out his hand, which Gibbs took, hoping the other wouldn't notice how fast his heart was beating. He couldn't explain it, but from the moment he had seen those eyes for the first time, he had felt this strange feeling in his gut, which he'd felt never before, and then there was an odd feeling of longing and sadness he couldn't explain.

"You are Tony."

"That's me alright." The young man _—_ Tony—crouched to look at the pizza in the oven. He was muttering something, in Italian?

"I don't think I heard your full name."

Tony glanced over his shoulder and smirked, showing a set of white teeth that stood out against the tan. "That's because I never gave it. I don't share it for security reasons."

"Security?"

"Don't give me that look. I'm a Private Investigator—a very good one by the way—and during my career I may or may not have made a few enemies here and there. I kind of get out the worst in some people. Plus, I also help out you feds once in a while. Don't ask me why. Seems that you don't have enough capable agents of your own to do the hard labor. At least my paycheck is bigger than yours, so the joke is on you."

He hadn't known that... Gibbs grunted at the offered bottle of beer from the fridge. He'd much rather have some coffee.

Glancing at the coffee maker, dangerously close to falling on the floor, Tony made a face. "If you wanted some coffee, you didn't have to try to break it." Shaking his head and shooting annoyed look over his shoulder, he walked to the coffee maker. Pressing one button, the machine went on. "See? Doesn't take a genius to use it."

"Too many buttons," Gibbs grumbled and the annoyed look on Tony's face turned into amusement again. "So you won't tell me your full name. What about age?"

Tony narrowed his eyes slightly, looking suspicious. "What's that got to do with you?"

Gibbs shrugged. He had to know...

"I'm thirty," Tony finally answered.

Gibbs felt a wave of disappointment hit him. The age didn't match. How had he gotten it so wrong? For a moment there he'd been so sure... But then again that would have been just too good to be true, running into his son like this, and he didn't believe in luck.

"But this isn't about me. That girl who called before you, she told me you really need my help with something?"

Gibbs grumbled again. _Abby_... "I don't really _need_ it."

"Really? Well that's good then. I'm not in the mood for any extra work anyway. So in that case, I can just go and get some sleep."

"Wait!" Gibbs reacted a little too quickly and loud. He hated to see that self-satisfied look on the young man's face.

"So tell me then, Jethro Gibbs."

Taking out an old photograph, Gibbs gave it to Tony who looked at it with an unreadable expression. "Anthony DiNozzo. I'm looking for him."

"Really? What has he done this time that the feds need me to track him down _again_?"

Gibbs blinked and felt hope raise in him. "You know him?"

Tony snorted. " _Know_ him? I could take you to him right now."

"What are we waiting for then?" Gibbs asked, already on his way to the door, completely forgetting his need for coffee. Tony however had not forgotten his pizza.

"As soon as I've eaten. Trust me, there's no hurry. He's not going anywhere."

Gibbs huffed his breath, but finally sat down behind the small table in the kitchen. And with some coffee and pizza, he did feel less cranky, which Tony had to point out.

* * *

Walking to Tony's car, Gibbs stopped to stare at the flashy red car. He was sure he had seen it somewhere before...

"It's the Magnum Ferrari," Tony answered the question that hadn't been asked. He seemed to be awfully proud of the car.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Gibbs studied the young man. The car... The lifestyle... _Hawaii_... "Why did you become a Private Investigator?"

"Are you kidding me? I always wanted to be like Magnum. You know, the TV series? I've got the job, the car, the life..." Tony smiled widely as his eyes wandered after couple of women walking past them, waving their hands at them. "...and I've got the girls. What more can a guy ask for?"

Gibbs smirked. "No Hawaii shirts?"

"That's because I'm not Magnum. And _please_ don't tell me that's all you know about Magnum, Gibbs?"

"I've seen some pictures once or twice..."

Shaking his head at the ridiculous thought, Tony started the car. If he thought that the Agent would be scared by his speeding, he was very wrong. If anything, the man looked the very image of calm: the only thing missing was him calmly sipping some tea. Or perhaps coffee? Coffee seemed more like it.

Tony took out a pair of sunglasses and put them on. Glancing at his passenger, he wondered what this man wanted from his father. Not that he was going to bail out the old man anymore. If the feds got him again, he would no longer care if the old man rots in prison for the rest of his life... As far as he was concerned, he had done his duty as a son far more than he even had to. More than he should have done. It was so ironic, like the universe was pointing the finger at Senior and laughed at him. The man had disowned him years ago and now that his only son was rich, Senior just couldn't stay away and even going so far as staying in Hawaii, ruining his beautiful dreams. Suddenly the son he could never stand to even look at had become the best thing in the whole wide world for Senior. He had become yet another possible source of money for the old bastard... Maybe it was time to leave. He'd been living his childhood dream for a few years now. Maybe that was more than enough and he should not tempt fate.

Stopping the car in front of the house, which his father could not even afford to own, Tony turned to look at Gibbs. "You need anything else?"

"No. What do I owe you?"

Tony laughed. "Really? I didn't even have to do anything. Just tell me what he has done this time that a fed needs to find him?"

Getting out of the car, Gibbs suddenly had a dangerous look on his face. Tony was starting to worry if this had been a bad idea, to bring the man—who had in his eyes the look of someone with the intend to kill—to see his father. As much as he wouldn't care if Senior was locked up for good, he was still the only family he had... So to let someone kill his own father was not something Tony wanted either. "Gibbs..."

"He kidnapped my son."

Tony froze. "He what..?" Of all things Senior could come up with, this had to be the lowest. Whenever he thought the man could no longer surprise and shock him...

"Either he gives me some answers or he will pay. Actually, he's going to pay either way." Gibbs walked away without a second glance, leaving Tony sitting there.

Tony's hands, still holding the steering wheel, were white and even the tan on his face was gone as he had paled several shades lighter. A moment later, he ran after the older man. If it was all true, then he couldn't let the man near his father, and Senior owed some explanations himself. Could he have done something to stop his father..?

Gibbs kicked the front door open and entered the house. Walking through the house, he slammed open every door that came across him. "DiNozzo! Come out!"

One of the doors opened, bedroom door by the looks of it. A young woman peeked out, holding a bathrobe over her naked body. "Who are you..?"

"Where is Anthony DiNozzo?"

She looked nervous. "He... Ah... He left somewhere this morning. In a hurry."

"Where!?" Gibbs growled and the poor woman broke down under the infamous glare in less than a second.

"He... Someone called him... He told feds had found him and... and that he had to go before they would come..."

Gibbs swore. He probably was the 'feds'. Someone must have warned the slimeball. What else could it be?

"You'd be surprised how often one of your people come after him. It doesn't have to mean this is about you," Tony spoke dryly from behind him.

Gibbs turned around. He was furious. "You told me he'd be here! Was it you, did you warn him off?!"

Tony held his hands up, with the sunglasses dangling from his fingers. "Hey! Wasn't my doing. Calm down or I won't help you find him. Trust me, if you want to find him so badly, you are going to need me."

With much difficulty, Gibbs swallowed his fury. "Let's get going then!"

Shaking his head, Tony glanced at the wide-eyed woman. "Do you always make women cry?"

Grumbling something, Gibbs stormed out of the house. Tony followed him, muttering something in Italian again.

Sitting in the car, Tony was surprised by the head slap the old man delivered before joining him. "Why did you do that!?"

"Don't speak in Italian in front of me. You talk about me, talk in English."

Rubbing the back of his head, Tony grinned. "Why? So you can slap my head when I speak about you?"

Gibbs looked at him like he'd just said the most obvious thing.

"Think I'll stick to Italian..." Tony muttered and then turned serious as they left the house. Putting the sunglasses back on, he drove on the highway.

"You know where to go?"

Tony smiled his unhappy smile. "When he can't use the public transportation and he's in a hurry? There's only one place he'd go to... I hope you're ready for a little road trip."

Gibbs grunted. He didn't care if it took rest of his lifetime, as long as he got his hands on DiNozzo.

* * *

"You sure you know where he is?" Gibbs asked as they sat down in a small coffeehouse for a break, after the long drive.

Looking annoyed, Tony glared at him. "I told you to just trust me. He doesn't have too many other options, not without money. I have a cousin who lives where we are going now. It's the only place he can go to. Those two used to be such big buddies when I was a kid and I'm pretty sure even after that."

Gibbs looked at him with narrowed eyes and suspicion. "DiNozzo is related to you?"

Tony bit his tongue for that slip and he made a face. "Not exactly..." As far as Senior was concerned, he had no son. Well, until he got the word about his money, but by then Tony himself had no longer been interested being called 'son' by Senior of all people... When Gibbs looked like he was expecting more, Tony sighed. "It's not important. All you need to know is that we are not close. He destroyed my life and now that I'm finally doing well, he's been trying to do it again. We're not friends, so don't worry about it too much."

Staring at the young man, who was calmly sipping at his 'coffee' with a fancy name, Gibbs frowned. To tell him not to worry _made_ him worry. Sure, the boy was not his problem and all that mattered to him right now was finding DiNozzo and finding out what he did to his son, but still... Looking at Tony brought all kinds of mixed feelings, which he didn't have time to dwell on right now. And he felt guilty; any feelings a father would feel toward his son, should only be for his own son.

"Whatever you are thinking, just stop it. You're not going to get the answers by staring a hole into my head."

Gibbs shook his head, picking up his cup of coffee. "Just wondering where my son is and what DiNozzo did to him..."

Staring at the man who suddenly looked much older than he was, Tony felt sorry for him. He sometimes forgot that not all parents were like Senior. "I'm sorry. Of all things he's done, I would have never thought the old man would take someone's child. Had I known, maybe I could've done something about it, I don't know."

Gibbs frowned at the apology and part of him was wondering at the use of words. ' _Old man_ ' spoke of familiarity more than just two people who hated each other. "Just help me find him and then maybe I'll get my answers."

"That's what I'm here for." Tony smiled sadly. It was all he was good for anyway; either someone wanted to use him for his skills or then use him for his money... Sure, he had his looks, which got the ladies with or without the money, but that kind of 'love' was hollow and no matter how much he tried filling his life with things, nothing was enough. It was like a huge part of him was lost and he couldn't find it no matter how hard he tried. He didn't even know what he needed so that he'd at least know what to look for.

"What's your story?"

"Huh?" Tony blinked, having for a moment forgotten where he was.

"What's your life story."

Tony smiled. "Nice try. Not sharing."

Gibbs kept his gaze calm as he was sipping at his coffee, which was not perfect, but it had to do for now. "I told you about my son."

Rolling his eyes, Tony thought about it for a moment. "I was an only child. Mother left when I was few years old. Turned out she was only after my father's money. The irony... When he lost his money, she left. I wish she'd have taken me with her... I left home as soon as I could and I made a life of my own, fulfilled my big dreams and now have more than most people could even dream about. Even have some money now. Man, it really is all so ironic when you think about it..."

Gibbs stared, his coffee forgotten for a moment. "Your father. He ever... hurt you?"

"No!" Tony looked startled and he laughed nervously. "No. No, he didn't. He just—ah—well, he kind of never was there."

_And that's not abuse?_ Gibbs glared, making Tony think it was aimed toward him.

"I mean, he never beat me up or anything. He didn't even want to touch me with his own hands."

Gibbs looked up sharply at that. Was he reading too much from those words?

"Oh, hey. Look at the time. We should get going if we don't want to risk giving the old man time to escape again." Tony stood up. He felt suddenly nervous and he didn't know why. It had to have something to do with the way the man kept staring at him; there was something so unnerving about those eyes.

Only the need to get to DiNozzo was what made Gibbs agree with it. In a normal situation, he would've made Tony sit back down and make him spill out the truth. His imagination was already running wild and he just felt for some reason the need to know he was wrong.

Rest of the drive was spent in silence. With Tony hiding behind his sunglasses again, Gibbs couldn't help but feel the need to take those things and break them.


	4. Chapter 4

There was a strange feeling of foreboding when Tony and Gibbs arrived at their destination, like something bad was going to happen, the kind of feeling that would make any normal people hesitate. That didn't stop Gibbs from jumping off the car before it had even stopped. It was already getting late by now and he had plenty of pent-up rage, ready to explode.

"Gibbs, wait!" Tony cursed as the old man was already gone, breaking down yet another front door on that day. For a moment Tony just sat there, staring at his hands on the steering wheel and then he smiled sadly. He hated feeling so envious toward this kid who had a father ready to turn over the entire world, just trying to get to the man who took him. "I hope you know what a blessing it is to have been born to such parents," he mumbled and finally got out of the car, hoping he wouldn't find any dead bodies by the time he got inside the house.

Meanwhile, Gibbs pretty much repeated his act of kicking open any doors he saw and yelling for the old man to come out. Finally, a young man walked to him, looking angry. And who wouldn't be, having a stranger just making his way violently inside your house.

"Who are you; what do you think you're doing!? Get out, before I call the cops!"

"Where's DiNozzo!?" Gibbs growled, wondering for a moment if he should have just taken his rifle with him and waited outside the house, until the bastard came out... But then again he remembered that he needed to first find out about his son. Questions first, sniper gone crazy later. Although to the outsider's eyes, he had jumped to the crazy wagon already. It was also one of the many reasons why his friends had tried to follow him and why he had left D.C. earlier than planned.

"I don't know who you are talking about. Now, get out! Last warning!"

Gibbs, being the bastard he was, snapped. Taking hold of the man, he pushed him against the wall with a mad look in his eyes. "Where's DiNozzo!?"

Swallowing, the man mumbled something in Italian. Could have been a prayer of some kind. "I-I don't—"

Gibbs pushed harder. "Where!?"

"Upstairs... In the bathroom..."

Throwing the man aside like a piece of trash, Gibbs made his way upstairs in the bedroom. You couldn't go wrong with the loud singing coming from there. After seeing the clothes on the bed and then the closed bathroom door, Gibbs sat down on a chair. While he did 'fancy' the idea of going in the room and shooting the man right then and there, he _didn't_ fancy the idea of having to watch another man's naked body. So he waited and took out his gun, holding it between his knees.

"This no longer concerns you, Tony. Go home," he said, when the door opened and the young man stepped in the room.

"Actually, this has everything to do with me." Gibbs looked up and Tony scoffed. "I brought you here, remember? And this is my cousin's house, which by the way, you owe me. Do you have any idea what I had to give up, just to make sure he didn't call the cops?" When Gibbs gave him a blank stare, Tony rolled his eyes and walked closer, eyeing the gun wearily. He really shouldn't have brought the man here... "My car, you dumbass. I gave it to the idiot so you could leave without any trouble. So please, at least put that thing away."

"Never asked you to do that." Gibbs made no move to put the gun away.

"I didn't say you did, but you owe me anyway. Big time." Tony glanced over his shoulder when the singing stopped. Senior was coming out. "Please, Gibbs, put the gun away. You're not going to get your answers with violence. I know him better than you do. He _breathes_ violence."

Before either man could decide or do anything, the door opened and Anthony DiNozzo stepped out. While the years had done their job on him and as old as he now was, he still had that charm in him, like a poison snake that fooled the prey until it was too late. Seeing them there, Anthony went from confusion to anger. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

Rubbing his forehead, Tony muttered, "Please, cover yourself..."

Putting his pants on, Anthony narrowed his eyes and turned to look at Tony, demanding answers, "Who is this man? Why are you here?" When Gibbs stood up, Anthony noticed the gun. "Well, well. What do we have here?"

The sound of a gun safety going off was the answer he got and Gibbs moved forward. When Tony tried to hold him back, he pushed the young man out of his way and lunged forward, forcing Anthony to walk backwards until his back connected with the bathroom door. "Where's my son?!"

"Clearly you know me, but I still have no idea who you are. Let alone who this son you are talking about is."

Gibbs snarled, pushing the gun painfully against Anthony's shoulder, clearly tempted to pull the trigger. "My name is Jethro Gibbs. You stole my son from my wife, Shannon!"

Anthony stared at him for a moment and then a recognition flashed over his face. He looked from Gibbs to Tony and then he started laughing. "Oh. Isn't this situation just... What's the word? _Delicious_."

Tony stood behind Gibbs, looking for that moment when he could safely grab the gun. "Dad, please... Just tell him what he wants to know and then _maybe_ he won't shoot you."

Gibbs snarled again, "Don't make any promises for me!" And then it was like something hit him through his mist of rage and he blinked. He looked at the amused smirk on DiNozzo's face and then he finally glanced over his shoulder at the worried looking young man, with his green eyes looking suddenly so very bright in Gibbs' eyes, as if asking him how could he have not seen it? And he felt that same odd feeling in his gut from before. " _Dad_?" Gibbs finally dared to whisper and Anthony snorted. Gibbs pushed the gun even harder against him, making the man flinch. If no other damage, then at least there was going to be a huge bruise there.

Tony rolled his eyes. "Yeah. You got me. I'm the son of a bastard." Gibbs only kept staring at him with an odd look on his face, which made Tony smile nervously. "I know I've tried to keep you from killing my father, but now you're making me nervous."

"Tony, how old are you?" Gibbs' voice was strangely soft, completely different from before, when he was yelling at Senior.

"I already told you—"

"Your _real_ age. Forget your security reasons for a moment. It's important."

Tony furrowed his brows in confusion and Anthony sneered, "Yes. Tell the man the truth, _Anthony_ Junior."

"I'm... I'm twenty-six."

Gibbs closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them again, his eyes were bright from unshed tears. "God..."

Anthony laughed, bringing their attention back to him. "Some good it did to me, taking your son. He never was worthy to be called by my name. Such useless and needy little brat, like you wouldn't believe. I only got him for my wife who then changed her mind and left, leaving me with another man's offspring."

With one swift movement, Gibbs moved the gun and shot the man in the foot.

"Gibbs!" Tony yelled, although in secret he was pleased that while Gibbs had indeed shot Senior, at least he hadn't shot to kill. Yet. It was obvious that either the man was indeed going to kill his father or at the very least send him close to the doors of hell.

"You shot me!" Anthony screamed as he fell down on the floor, holding his foot in agony. Swearing in Italian, he crawled toward his clothes, away from Gibbs who stared at him with ice cold fury and with his gun still pointed at the man.

"You son of..! You took my son! For all these years..! And yet you have the _nerve_ to—!"

"Gibbs, if you don't calm down, you're going to kill him and you won't ever find out what happened to your son," Tony tried to reason with him and Gibbs shot him a look.

"I already have my answer and I can't believe how blind I've been when I knew it from the moment I saw you."

"When you saw me?" Tony was confused. Before Gibbs could answer, Tony saw it from the corner of his eye, like that scene from a movie; the bad guy was down and the good guys thought it was safe to drop down their guards, and that's when the bad guy pulled out a gun from somewhere. Then there was also the 'taking the bullet for the other person' scene. "Gibbs!" Tony didn't know what made him do it, but then he was suddenly pushing the older man down on the floor.

Falling down, Gibbs hit his back painfully against the floor. It was close that he didn't cause his own gun to go off. That was least of his worries though, because he had heard another gun do just that. "Tony!" he yelled and was barely in time to catch the falling young man, who was now looking confused.

"Couldn't let him shoot you. Don't even know why... Didn't mean to... get shot myself..." Tony chuckled.

Gibbs brushed his fingers over the tightly furrowed brows. He didn't have time to think about how much his fingers were trembling or how bad Tony's situation was. He heard the sound from behind his back again and when he turned around and shot Senior, his hand was steady and no mercy in his heart.

Dropping his gun on the floor, Senior grunted, putting his hand over his chest wound. Even with the blood coming from his mouth, the man had no remorse in him. "Looks like I... took him from you again."

"Shut up." Gibbs knew he sounded much calmer than what he felt. However, he had no time for the bastard now. After making sure there would be no more surprises coming from the man, he went back to his son. _His_ _son_... Gibbs swallowed as he fell on his knees and stared at his bleeding boy, truly looked at Tony for the first time. He took out his phone and made few phone calls, hoping the help would get there in time. If not... Then God help those poor souls.

Still furrowing his brows, Tony mumbled, "You didn't... kill him?"

"No, Tony. The slimeball is still alive. Don't talk... Help is on the way." Gibbs couldn't hold himself back and that's why he soon found himself with Tony in his arms, both trying to stop more blood from escaping the body and to hold his son in his arms for the first time. _Maybe for the last time_ , his mind tried to make him think, but he pushed it away.

"Good... Might be a bastard... Still the only... only one I've got..." Tony blinked, trying to keep the darkness away. Distantly he was also wondering why this stranger, whom he had only met today, seemed to be so concerned and even distraught by him getting shot. _It figures_ , he thought with sarcasm and hurt, that his own father wouldn't even feel bad about shooting him and then some stranger comes, looking like it was the end of the world.

"You'd be surprised," Gibbs spoke gruffly.

"Huh..?"

"We'll talk later, okay? First gonna get you fixed up."

Even only half conscious, Tony was looking stubborn. "No."

"You'll forget it and I have to tell it all over again." For a moment Gibbs feared he was looking in the eyes of a dead, but then the eyes blinked, eyebrows furrowed again and Tony snorted softly. Making up his mind, in case the worst would happen and he'd lose his son, again, Gibbs decided to tell the truth. "You're my son. You are the son who was stolen from me."

Tony stared him in confusion, but before anything could 'click' in his brains, he lost consciousness.

"Holy—! What happened?" It came from the door and Gibbs looked over his shoulder, where the 'cousin' had finally been brave enough to come in the room to find out what had happened. Gibbs glared and the young man swallowed thickly. "Look, I heard some of the things. I don't get it, but I don't break my promises. As far as I'm concerned, you shot in self-defense and to protect my cousin... Tony, he is my cousin, right..?" He looked uncertain.

Gibbs ignored him and kept brushing his fingers over Tony's cheek and forehead. Then he thought he heard the sound of ambulance—and at least one police car—sirens. He was surprised that it happened so fast after his call, not that he complained.

"Okay, maybe I didn't completely keep my promise..." The cousin looked sheepish, but one more look from Gibbs sent him out of the room. Even if the look had been this time grateful.

Gibbs looked down at the peaceful look on Tony's face. If you didn't know any better, you'd think he was only sleeping. It was in that moment when Gibbs could see traces of Shannon there. Really though, the young man had parts from almost every member of their family. Again Gibbs wondered how could he have ignored his gut feelings from before. Perhaps _this_ would have never happened...

As he heard the sound of people running through the house, Gibbs whispered in Tony's ear, hoping that maybe he'd hear him, "You can't die yet. I won't allow it. You don't have my permission. Not like this, Tony..."


	5. Chapter 5

_He's sitting by the lake, fishing with Magnum and James Bond. Then out of nowhere they are surrounded by bees, which never attack them, but after a while the buzzing starts to get on his nerves..._

"...and he's so cute! Can I touch him? Hug him? Can I, Gibbs?"

Tony furrowed his brows. His body felt so heavy and he was so tired he wished he could go back to sleep, but the voices that woke him up, became louder and more annoying with each spoken word. Especially that one overly excited female voice, which he wished and even prayed would shut up and let him sleep.

"No, Abby, you can't."

"But, Gibbs..."

"Abigail, I'm afraid I must agree with Jethro, now is not the time."

"But, Ducky— Hey, I think he's waking up!"

Tony moaned softly and after trying it for a while, he finally opened his eyes. Blinking his eyes several times, he stared at the three people standing there. A young female _goth_. Why was there a goth? An older man—Tony liked his eyes. Eyes are the window of the soul and—Oh, and that was the man who shot his father. Gibbs, he wasn't standing, he was sitting next to him and—

"You shot him!" Tony sat up straight, only to fall back in bed, groaning in pain when a sharp pain shot through his body.

"Calm down. _He_ shot _you_." Gibbs looked worriedly. He felt so useless, unable to do anything else besides sitting and sleeping next to Tony's hospital bed, for days when Tony was in and out—mostly out—and each time in pain and unaware of his surroundings until he was shot with another dose of the 'good stuff'.

Tony frowned. Oh, right, _that_ happened... The old man with the nice eyes gave him something to drink. Smiling gratefully, Tony looked at Gibbs again. "He's..?"

"No. He's alive." Gibbs looked unhappy, disappointed even. "But much has happened during the days you've been out."

"Oh." Tony knew he should have felt relieved, but he simply felt nothing at all. Just what kind of son was he? His father's son apparently.

Gibbs clenched and unclenched his fists, wanting to take Tony's hand in his, like he'd done most of the time the young man had been out. But now that he was finally awake and alert, Gibbs wasn't sure if he was allowed.

Tony saw the obvious discomfort Gibbs was in and he misunderstood. "Look, it's nice of you to be here, really, but I'll be fine. Just call the nurse or the doctor and I'll be good. You don't have to be here."

Gibbs looked over the bed at his old friend and when Ducky gave him a nod, he swallowed thickly. "Tony... What do you remember? Do you remember what happened?"

"I remember getting shot." Tony grinned, but the grin fell when there was no humor on Gibbs face. Instead for a moment the look on older man's face became scary. It was not a nice expression. "But after that things get kind of blurry..."

"Do you remember what I told you, after you were shot?" Gibbs now had intense look on his face as he stared at Tony. He barely even saw Abby's anxious looking face and the need to just blurt it all out. It was only Ducky's hand on her shoulder that kept her quiet and standing where she was, pigtails trembling with her excitement.

"No..." Tony hesitated. "What _did_ you say? Is it about Senior? My dad."

Gibbs almost flinched. "It has something to do with him, but most of all it has something to do with you."

Tony frowned, trying to think what it could be. "Is he still in the hospital? Close to death? Coma? Just say it, I'm not some fragile little girl who can't handle the truth."

Gibbs' mouth twisted into a small and quickly fading smile. "No, you're not, but this is something that made _me_ drink a whole bottle of bourbon and become the world class _—_ even worse than usual _—_ bastard and ready to kill anyone for getting on my way."

"Now you are kind of starting to scare me..." Tony glanced toward the other two in the room, wondering why the woman looked like she was about to attack him and why there was this odd gleam in her eyes, like she'd just found something awesome and couldn't wait to get her hands on it. That thought was disturbing. "Who and why are they here?"

"They're my friends. I hope you don't mind that they're here." As much as Gibbs claimed he didn't need any support from his friends, in reality he didn't even want to think about them leaving. Not now of all times. For some reason he felt even more nervous and anxious than when he had proposed to Shannon all those years ago. _Shannon_... If only she and Kelly had lived to see this day...

Tony looked at Gibbs again. Something was going on, something big. "Your friends? No, I don't mind... I'm not dying, am I?"

"No," Gibbs answered a little too quickly. He then took a deep breath, Ducky's words from hours ago still in his head: _'Remember, Jethro. Break down the news gently. We do not know how the poor boy is going to take it.'_

"Gibbs?" Tony stared. The functional mute seemed to have completely lost his voice.

"Anthony DiNozzo is not your father," Gibbs finally blurted it out and Ducky sighed, shaking his head.

Tony stared for a moment and then he startled the people in the room when he laughed, despite the pain it caused him. "Are you serious? That's old news."

"What?"

With a snort, Tony rolled his eyes. "Look. Senior could not win the prize of being the father of the year even if he went through a complete personality switch. How many other parents would legally disown their own kids even if they treat them badly? I'm perfectly aware of what he did to me years ago, so could you please not throw it back in my face?"

There was a dangerous look on Gibbs' face. He hadn't yet found the time to even think about doing any deep background checks on Tony and this piece of information was yet another reason he wanted to run to DiNozzo and kill the man for all the evil he had done to his boy. Not only did the man take his son from a loving family, he also did not himself give any love nor even the most basic care to the child. That much was sure by now, from all the little things Tony had told so far. If the knowledge was killing him, it would surely have broken Shannon's heart... "No, that's not what I meant, but we are going to talk about that later... What I meant is, there is proof that you are not his son. Several. Including DNA test."

Tony stared. When he finally spoke, his voice was so small only Gibbs could hear it, "What are you saying?"

"You can be mad at me later, for not asking your permission, but I just couldn't wait any longer and I wanted to have every possible evidence against him. Although, the FBI has him in a pretty tight situation already."

"What? Why?" It was starting to be obvious that Tony was more or less in shock, or then his brains simply hadn't yet fully understood the revelation. "He's not? I'm not? What do you mean? No, but I... I'm..."

Ducky moved forward. "Jethro, perhaps it would be better if—"

"You mean Senior really isn't... He's not my father? You mean to tell me that all this time he's been right about me? Am I just a bastard? That my mother... And he... He's really not..." Tony started laughing hysterically. "Isn't this just a joke of the year! A _conman_ has been telling the truth!"

"No, Tony, that's not it."

Tony sat up, ignoring the pain, the hands trying to push him back down and the machine, which started making noise when it was disconnected. "Then what else is it then!?"

Gibbs never had the chance to explain, because that's when the doctor and a nurse ran in the room and sent them away with angry words and glares that were pretty impressive, but not for Gibbs who was once again separated from his son. Ducky was the only brave soul outside the room to get anywhere near Gibbs, when the man looked like he would bite and growl at anyone trying to even look at him. "Jethro... Maybe this would be a good time for you to go to the hotel—"

"No."

"At least you need to take a shower and change your clothes. Get some proper food in you."

"No."

"Jethro, he's not going to disappear."

"You don't know that."

"Both Abigail and I will remain here until you return."

"Ducky..."

"Now, Jethro. You will have my word that I will not leave anywhere until you return."

With much growling, Gibbs finally listened to what his friends had tried to tell him for days and nights since Tony was brought in the hospital. Although when he left the hospital, he let anyone looking at him know just how much he didn't like doing it.

"You think they will be alright? Will Tony come home with Bossman?" Abby worried and Ducky smiled sadly. Neither of them even knew what the young man's personality, let alone life, was like. So it was impossible to tell.

"We can always hope for the best, Abigail." _And prepare for the worst._

* * *

The next time Tony woke up, it was dark. Turning his head, he saw that there was someone sleeping next to him. Well, not really next to him, but in a chair that was next to his bed. It looked awfully uncomfortable... He couldn't help but think how never before, during his other hospital visits, had he woken up by someone sitting there with him, and certainly not sleeping. Flinching, when he was trying to get more comfortable in bed, he moved his hand over his stomach area. Great. Another bullet wound in the gut. At least it would be yet another battle wound story he could share with the ladies. Or maybe not... Not a story he'd want to share. Maybe he'll just make up something much more interesting.

"Tony?" a male voice spoke from the darkness. Whoever had stayed with him was awake.

"Mhm?" was Tony's answer, still too sleepy to bother forming any words with his mouth. He heard movement in the darkness and then there was suddenly some light in the room. He had to blink for a moment before he saw where it was coming from; a small and pink desk lamp.

Seeing the confused frown, Gibbs explained, "It used to belong to my daughter."

"Oh." Tony didn't know what else to say. He stared at the older man quietly. While he hadn't really seen himself in the mirror yet, he was pretty sure he had to look much better than the Agent did. "What are you doing here, Gibbs? Other than delivering me those news about my father."

Gibbs stared at the wall above the bed. He didn't know how to deal with watching in those eyes again, when every time he did, he felt this need to hold the young man. To make up for all the lost time and moments.

"I know there's something you haven't told me yet. Whatever it is, I promise to not freak out again." Tony rolled his eyes.

Gibbs hesitated. He really was not sure where to even begin. "My wife and daughter... They were killed years ago."

"I'm sorry," Tony said softly, although unsure of what it had to do with anything, but he didn't want to seem rude by pointing it out.

"Some months ago I found a diary and a letter. It was from my wife... I found out that somewhere in this world I have a son. A son who was stolen from us by a man named Anthony DiNozzo." Gibbs saw Tony tense at the mention of his 'father'. "You really don't remember anything I told you?" He saw Tony tense again and then avoid looking in his eyes. "Tony?

Tony laughed nervously. "No. No, I really don't. I've just been... dreaming a lot, I guess. Kind of happens when all drugs do is make me sleep all the time. Makes you think some strange things."

"What kind of dreams?"

"Crazy dreams that don't make any sense. I mean, they can't. Just..."

Gibbs took Tony's hand in his, carefully, like it was the most fragile thing on earth. "What, Tony?"

"I mean, it's not like you're really my father, right? That's crazy. My mind is too confused and it's making up things, with everything that's been happening lately."

"Not crazy. It's the truth."

Tony stared with wide eyes and Gibbs finally looked him in the eyes. "That DNA test I mentioned? I didn't test it with _his_ DNA. I tested it with mine... Well, Abby did. She's that girl who was here before. Told me she wanted to frame it and hang on the wall... You're... You're my son, Tony. You're _my_ flesh and blood. Not that— Not his. You're mine." So what if that sounded downright possessive. This was the son he never had—and always wanted—only he did and just never knew what he'd lost.

"Whoa, wait..." Tony sat up carefully. He looked ready to lose it again, but then he seemed to forget how to breathe as he just sat there staring at Gibbs with wide eyes.

"Breathe." Gibbs was secretly glad he had a reason to sit on the bed and hold the young man, or maybe it was just him seeing it as the perfect excuse, which it was, and not an actual reason to do it.

"I'm... I'm calm. No freaking out. Promised." Tony had closed his eyes. After a while he was calm enough to relax and he was breathing properly again. "I'm okay now. You can let go."

Gibbs pulled away with a great deal of reluctance. When Tony didn't say anything for a long time, he sighed. "Talk to me..."

"About what? Gibbs... This kind of thing... It's hard to take in. And don't get me wrong, to have a father like you is every child's dream, unless they already have one of course."

"But..?"

"I just... I need a little time to think and... To think. I need time."

While he was disappointed, Gibbs understood. Certainly he couldn't expect for the young man to just happily jump into his arms and call him 'daddy'. Certainly not one who was all grown up now. Even if Tony didn't have a good relationship with the man he thought was his father for all these years, even if that bastard had obviously been the kind of parent no child should have. "I understand. Take your time. Just... No matter what you decide, don't disappear. Can you promise me that?"

Tony swallowed at the pained way Gibbs had said that. How could anyone deny such a request? "I promise."

Gibbs relaxed immediately, even cracked a small smile when Tony asked about the pink desk lamp. "Don't know why... Just felt like the right thing to do at the time. Kelly always wanted to have it close to her bed in case she got scared at night. Nightmares and monsters under bed. That kind of thing."

Tony smiled. The way Gibbs spoke of Kelly was obvious that the man had been an amazing father... At least he had loved her if nothing else. "What was she like?"

Gibbs smiled. For some reason, first time in years, the thought of thinking and talking about his little girl didn't cause him pain. And so he sat back and relaxed, sharing his memories with his long-lost son, barely even noticing when after a while Tony had closed his eyes and was asleep, carrying the softly spoken stories into his dreams. In his dreams Tony was running around in a house he had never been in before, playing with a young girl. He was laughing and then smiling sheepishly when a woman with a red hair scolded them, sending them outside, while she stood by the window. She was soon joined by her husband and together, with a smile on their faces, they watched their children playing their silly version of a football.

* * *

It was yet another nighttime after several others when Tony woke up again. Or rather, after he stopped pretending to be asleep. He knew he would be leaving the hospital tomorrow and he also knew this could be his last and only chance to do this and the way he wanted to do it; with no audience. So he had spent hours trying to get Gibbs to go to his hotel to get some real sleep in a real bed.

Carefully putting on clothes, which someone had brought to him before, Tony got up and opened the door, glad that he was the only one in his room. He had a strange feeling that Gibbs had something to do with it... Once he was sure there wouldn't be anyone stopping him, he left the room, moving as fast and quietly as he could and causing himself as little pain as he could. He was healing fast, but not fast enough. By now Tony knew that Senior had been a little closer to death than he had been and he knew the old man was even in the same hospital. Finding the right room would not be a problem; all he had to find was the door with a guard standing outside it. The real question now was... How would he get in?

A moment later, Tony found both the right room and the guard, who was happily flirting with a nurse and neither of the two were paying any attention to the door. While he was still getting to know Gibbs, Tony had no doubt in his mind that the older man would get the man's ass fired for this. _He_ sure would... Shaking his head, Tony slipped inside the room.

The lights were on and although his other hand was cuffed to the bed, Anthony DiNozzo looked almost too well for someone who had barely made it back to the land of the living. Watching TV, he looked nothing like someone who was about to be thrown in jail. The FBI had more than enough reasons and evidence to lock him up for years to come and while the feds hadn't in the past been anywhere near this aggressive with their need to try to catch Senior, for some reason one call from Gibbs changed that attitude pretty quickly.

"Tell me it's not true."

Anthony was startled by the low voice speaking out of nowhere. Turning around, he saw his son, standing there and staring at him. How long had he been there? "Junior."

"Don't call me that. Tell me it's not true."

"What are you talking about?"

"You know, I turned twenty-six a few weeks ago... Spent my birthday with bunch of women and then almost drinking myself into a coma. But knowing you, you wouldn't even care. I doubt you even remember when my birthday is." Tony chuckled humorlessly. "It's so sad, you know... That the child who I was, was never granted one word or act of love. I was always starving for it, for love, for affection, to at least be treated like another human being. Like I exist. Sometimes I even hoped you would indeed beat me. At least then I'd feel something other than... Whatever it was. Maybe, I'll never know now. I always wondered if there was something wrong with me, why my _dad_ didn't want me."

"Junior, you know I lo—"

"Don't you _dare_ say that now! Even without the scar in my gut, I'll have plenty of other things to remember you by! You and your way of being a so called parent! Or you and your little friends or illegal hired servants, who did it for you and kept their silence, when you couldn't even care to make sure there was food at home!" Tony started pacing in the room. "All my life... My entire life... What did you take from me? What did you steal from me? Why did you do it? Answer me!"

Anthony jumped when Tony slammed his fist against the wall and after a moment he finally dropped his act, no longer trying to pretend; he was again looking like that man who shot his 'son'. "My ex-wife, she wanted a child _so_ badly, but did not want to destroy her body by giving birth to one herself. But she still wanted it to be her biological child on paper, something to show off, so she pretended to be pregnant and then we needed to find the perfect pregnant woman to give her child to us. Sadly my wife decided to divorce me a few years later and left you to me."

"Give?" Tony narrowed his eyes dangerously and Anthony chuckled.

"Fine. I _took_ the child. Does that sound better to you, Junior?"

"Well, obviously I am not Junior anymore, not yours anyway, so stop calling me that."

"You should be grateful! With that woman you would have never gotten half of what I gave you, no money and no support system! Not even a job!"

"Any job I've ever had, had nothing to do with you! And any money I've made, it was made with my own work, which I know is something you're not familiar with, always wanting to take the easy way out. But despite all the money in the world... You had no right to decide that. You had no right!" Tony lunged forward. With his fist moving, he didn't stop after the first but threw immediately another punch.

"I am your father, Junior! On the paper I am still your father! I _bought_ you from that woman!" Anthony screamed and attacked back; his cuffed hand didn't seem to matter. For an old man, he moved fast and soon Tony found himself on the floor with a foot on his throat, cutting off most of his air. Either Anthony was so strong that even the handcuffs couldn't hold him or then it was just yet another sloppy work done by the guard, a man who had yet to show up, despite all the ruckus the two of them were now making there.

"Actually... not anymore." Tony gasped for breath and tried to push the strong foot away. "Even before I knew the truth... I legally... disowned you as my father... Who's... Who's laughing now, _dad_..? No matter how you tried to be such a... huge _friend_ with me after you... found out about my... money... Even if I would've died... You wouldn't have been... able to touch any of it... Not... Not a dime."

"I never gave my permission!"

"Funny... you would say that... They were pretty much all on my side... after I shared my sad little life story with... with you and... how you already disowned me yourself when... I was a kid... Payback can be a real... bitch... Don't ya think?"

Anthony growled and pressed his foot harder. They both heard the now very familiar sound of a gun safety going off.

"Step away from him."

"Ghhhps..." Tony gasped for breath. He could feel that if Senior stepped just a little bit harder, not only would he not be able to breathe, but something would break as well.

Senior glanced over his shoulder, seeing Gibbs standing there. "Ah. You again... Why is it that I am always one step ahead of you?" He glanced down. "Literally."

"I _said_ , step away from him or I _will_ shoot and this time there will be no chance of survival!" Gibbs growled. If his gut hadn't given him trouble all day, he would have stayed at the hotel after the shower he took. He had been unable to eat anything, unable to calm down and so he returned. Imagine the horror when he found the empty hospital bed and then his fury when no one had any answers. With some quick thinking, he decided to go see Anthony DiNozzo. Just in case. And then imagine the full blown rage when the guard was not guarding the door and when he walked in to this scene now... There were no words to describe the way he was feeling. The only other time he had ever felt this way was when he killed the man who took his girls from him.

Anthony smirked. There was _no_ way he was going to spend his life in a prison. "Really? Then the least I can do is to take him with me." Before he got the chance to do anything, Gibbs pulled the trigger. One shot was all it took and then Anthony had a moment of terror flash in his eyes, as if he saw his maker or the gates of hell. Or both. Whatever it was, it was gone fast and he fell down.

"Tony!" Gibbs pushed the man away from his son and checked the pulse. He nearly started crying tears of joy when he felt it, strong against his fingers.

"Thought... to sleep..." Tony mumbled as he was pulled in the older man's arms, cradled like a babe. He had hazy mixed feelings about that.

"And look what would've happened if I had stayed there!" Gibbs sighed and barely noticed the nurse and guard who finally ran in the room. When he did, he noticed with narrowed eyes the red and swollen lips and clothes looking like they had been put on in a hurry. The gunshot had been what finally alerted the pair that something was wrong.

"I will deal with you later..!" Gibbs snarled, making the couple turn pale. He pulled out his cellphone and called Fornell. The FBI was not going to be happy. Even less happy once he started letting them get a taste of his infamous bad temper... But for now his full attention was on his son, who was taking in ragged breaths. "Call the doctor," he ordered the nurse, who was happy to have an excuse to leave the room. There wasn't anything that could be done to the old Anthony DiNozzo anyway.

Tony blinked his eyes and tried rubbing his throat, but Gibbs stopped him. Seeing the mix of worry and anger in those blue eyes he had secretly come to love seeing every day, Tony gave a soft pat on Gibbs' cheek. "'m fine."

"You're not fine. Almost lost you again..." Gibbs muttered, holding him tighter, only loosening his tight hold because of the pain it caused.

"'m fine," Tony insisted again and Gibbs hoped he never had to hear those words again unless they were the truth.


	6. Chapter 6

In a perfect world, or in a movie, things would fall easily into their places. But that's the thing about the movies, you don't get to see what happens after the end credits, and in a real world there are no happily ever afters. Not the kind from the fairytales anyway. And that's good, there's nothing wrong with having a stormy weather just as much as the sunshine and rainbows. It's called balance. In a real world the hardships only strengthen the bond between people. If not, then they were never meant to be.

In a storybook world, Gibbs would have most likely found out about Tony while he was still a child, before he had grown a hard shell around his heart and while it would have still been fairly easy teaching the boy that not all parents were like Senior and that there truly was some good and beauty left in this world. In a movie ending, they probably would've hugged and then moved on to the end credits, pretending that everything could be fixed so easily, like all the many years didn't even exist in between. Like they weren't strangers only a moment ago.

After the incident at the hospital, Tony had to stay there for another night—much to his displeasure, which he loudly proclaimed—to make sure Senior had done no further damage. For Gibbs it worked just fine, to have Tony under watchful eyes for a little bit longer, when he wanted to make sure nothing else would go wrong regarding the case of Anthony DiNozzo and he had to leave and give his own statement. He also had to tear a new one for a few people while he was at it...

The FBI had of course arrived, this time with sleep deprived Tobias Fornell leading the case, who couldn't help but first go to see the ' _Gibbs' boy_ ' as he called it. In fact, after the word got out that the infamous Agent Gibbs had a son, Tony's hospital room's door was blocked by the people wanting to get a look at him. Imagine the surprise when more than half of the FBI guys knew the man from several cases he had worked for them. Tobias was the most surprised of them all when he found out and he put into words what they were all thinking, **" _What a small world. This whole time his son has been so close and he had no idea..."_**

It was as if the two men—Gibbs and Tony—were destined to meet sooner or later anyway. The thought wasn't comforting for Gibbs who was bitter and sad about all the lost time and years without his only son.

The agents, who were acting more like a bunch of school kids than the people working for the FBI, were finally scared away when Gibbs arrived and he couldn't get to his son because of them. On that day another story about the infamous NCIS Agent Gibbs started spreading around... _'You don't ever, under no condition, get in between Gibbs and his son.'_ Some dared to say it was Tobias Fornell who started it, but they all took it to heart and anyone smart enough added it to the unwritten _'What to never do around Agent Gibbs if you want to live'_ guide.

Then the worst thing happened, or second worst since no one died; the night before Tony's release from the hospital, he disappeared. No matter how hard Gibbs or even the FBI looked for the young man, they couldn't find him. No one even at his house or at his office knew where he was. Although, Gibbs had a feeling that they knew perfectly well, but refused to betray their boss. In secret Gibbs was pleased how good _his_ son was and how loyal those close to him were, but from the outside he only showed his rage and despair.

Before they knew it, another six months had passed and Agent Gibbs was a shadow of himself, having fallen into a deep gut-wrenching depression, never giving up trying to find another lead of where his son was. It wasn't the worst moment of his life so far, but only because unlike his girls, his son was still alive; he hoped and prayed.

* * *

Staring at his unfinished boat, Gibbs sighed. It was going to be his most beautiful one so far. At first he was going to name it ' _Anthony_ ', but it only made him think of that bastard with the same name as his son... He refused to use Tony's other name either, given by the DiNozzo, and he couldn't exactly name the boat ' _Jethro_ '...

"Really, Shannon. Couldn't you give him a third name or something?" he muttered fondly and shook his head and traced with his fingers the simple ' _Tony_ ' on the boat. He'd been making it for almost a year and nearly every day. He didn't even know why, but for some reason he felt this terrible urge to spend more hours than it was healthy working on this boat. Ducky tried reasoning with him once that perhaps part of him was hoping that once he was finished, he would get his son back with it.

Taking a small sip of bourbon, Gibbs ran a hand over his hair. Looking at the time, he could see it was almost 8 AM on Sunday. He'd been up yet another night. Time however didn't matter a whole lot to him in these days. And if he was drinking just a little bit more of bourbon every day, he _dared_ anyone to even mention that to him... He frowned when he thought he heard something from the upstairs. The front door? He turned off the small TV and took out his weapon, just in case. Not many people came to visit him in here that often anymore. Not after he had put a bullet through Fornell's book, which the man had brought to him a few weeks ago.

**_"Try reading something instead. Bourbon and this... this boat. They'll be the death of you, Jethro,"_** was what he had said.

Gibbs had his suspicions about the book, that it was most likely chosen by Diane, his own ex-wife and Fornell's future ex. ' _Gone with the wind_ ' was not exactly his idea of a ' _good story to read_ ' and the title had brought yet another surge of emotions and anger in him. Yeah, so his son had pretty much 'gone with the wind', but he didn't appreciate being reminded of that by his friends who were trying to 'help' him. Realizing his mistake, Tobias had apologized, but Gibbs had sent the man away with a threat to shoot him a 'new one' if he didn't get his ass away from his basement fast enough. There had been no visits ever since, but twice the amount of phone calls, whenever the phone wasn't turned off.

Gibbs listened closely as someone walked around the house for a while, most likely looking for him. Since that someone didn't know about his habit of pretty much living in the basement, it couldn't be anyone he knew or a friendly visitor, and so he was fully prepared to shoot that someone. The footsteps stopped and then the basement door opened. The person hesitated and then finally came down. Gibbs stared with wide eyes. Either it was too much bourbon or he was seeing a ghost or then he had finally lost it, like Abby had feared he would. "Tony..?"

The young man looked uncomfortable and Gibbs remembered he was still holding that gun. Putting it away, he didn't even care that his voice was trembling. "Tony?"

Tony swallowed nervously and looked around the room. "Uh... Yes. That... That's me. Look. I'm sorry how I... That I... I'm sorry, okay? I broke my promise, but I just couldn't... I... I mean..." His eyes widened and for a while there was silence, as Tony just gaped at what he saw. "Is that a _boat_? A boat in a _basement_? Why—?" He was cut off by strong arms pulling him into a tight hug; bone crushing. Abby would be so proud of her Bossman.

"You're really here," Gibbs mumbled.

"Yeah... I'm here," Tony agreed softly. Then he frowned when he could feel how thin the older man had become and he forced himself free from the death grip. It took many trials and errors before he succeeded. "What happened? You look like crap."

Gibbs shrugged and held Tony's arm tightly, refusing to let go, afraid that if he did the young man would disappear again. Maybe this was just a dream? That thought only made him hold stronger. He didn't want to wake up.

Tony winced in pain, but didn't say anything. He knew he'd be having some bruises from that, and guilty Gibbs if the man ever saw them, but he didn't mind. "Listen... I'm not going anywhere. Not again. I know I broke that promise once, but... I truly promise this time to not leave. So... Can we go upstairs and sit down and talk and... Maybe get something to eat? I'm starving." The last part was a lie, but he felt the need to get the old man to eat something.

Gibbs hesitated, but finally nodded. As they climbed the stairs, he still hadn't let go of the arm he was holding. Tony never mentioned it nor tried to shake or pull himself free. Once they were in the kitchen, Gibbs finally let go, but only because he was blocking the doorway and Tony had started cooking something, without asking for a permission and looking like he was very much at home in there. Gibbs swallowed thickly when the young man showed similar mannerisms in the kitchen as Shannon.

"Where were you?"

Tony looked over his shoulder when he heard the soft question. "I'll explain everything once we've had some breakfast, okay?"

Gibbs nodded somberly, still not convinced that this was actually happening. After six months... His son in his kitchen like that time didn't exist. It seemed so surreal, so perhaps he really was only seeing what he wanted to see. Although, why would he imagine his son in the kitchen of all places?

"Sit down. You look like you're about to fall over, _dad_ ," Tony said and turned around again, to hide his reddening cheeks. He'd been imagining how it would be like to call the man that, had even lost some sleep because of it, and now that he finally got it out... It was weird.

For Gibbs, with a warm feeling inside his broken heart, it felt like couple of those cracks were healed with that one word alone. After one last uncertain glance toward the doorway, he finally walked to a chair and sat down, observing quietly, but with a small half-smile on his lips this time.

Later when they both had finished eating their breakfast, the two men were sitting quietly, both wondering which one would start with the 'big talk'. Finally Tony, the more talkative one of the two, sighed and he took out a folded paper from his pocket.

"When I was in the hospital, I didn't..." Tony shook his head. "Here's the thing; I had in a very short amount of time found out that my father is not just a conman, but he had actually kidnapped someone's child. Then I got shot by him and my father got shot too. I wake up in a hospital and find out that he's really not my father—not that he even tried to be one anyway—and that _I_ am that kidnapped son, that I actually have a real father who really, truly, wants me. That _you're_ my father and I have a mother and a sister who I'm never going to meet. Then there's the little incident with Senior, where he almost killed me _again_ and then _he_ does die, which brought a whole new set of issues for me... Feeling guilty that I didn't even feel bad that he was dead. Sespite everything and no matter what the circumstances, for twenty-six years he was my father. I thought that it had to count for something, you know, but I felt nothing. It was like some complete stranger, whom I had never even met before, had died."

"Tony..."

"I know. Someone already told me the whole thing; no reason to feel guilty and so on, I've heard it all. But back then it was what it was."

Gibbs wondered how he hadn't realized it. How had he missed the signs?

Tony chuckled. "I'm good at hiding my true feelings and thoughts. I'd be shocked if you had noticed something... And then there was all the attention—and sometimes even affection—I got day and night, especially from you and those two friends of yours... Abby and Ducky?"

Gibbs nodded, with a frown, wondering what was wrong with that.

"The thing is... I can take a beating and getting shot to death. I can take being called by names and I can take all kinds of other cruel things this world has to offer me. I'm used to it. But kindness..?" Tony avoided looking at the older man and suddenly the tablecloth seemed awfully fascinating. "I'm not good at receiving it. Sure, I enjoy my time with some women now and then and I even have some good people in my life, but we don't really show our caring sides to one another. I'm really not good at dealing with kindness... So then at the hospital there were you and then suddenly all the other guys from the FBI and who knows who else... I got scared. I hate to admit it, but I really got scared... And it was suffocating me, more and more. So I did what I do best; I ran."

Gibbs almost growled, frustrated for not having noticed anything and mad at all the other people for making it worse. Tony just smiled sadly.

"It would have happened eventually anyway... All that was simply something that pushed me over the edge faster, and maybe it's a good thing that I left then instead of doing it when we had started to build a bond. After that it could have been either much easier or much harder to return... And I really did need some time alone. I needed to think and really digest everything. I... I hope you understand. It had nothing to do with you. Not really."

"I get it," Gibbs said softly. But while he did understand, he didn't like it. They had already lost so many years. "What happened that made you finally come back?"

"Oh. No, nothing happened. I just sort of died and—"

"What?!"

Tony looked embarrassed and then he finally put on the table the folded paper, which he took out before. "It's not what you think... I-I got something for you. I hope it's alright. I can always change it if it's not good... It took a few days to track you down without anyone noticing and I figured it would be perfect time to give it to you."

Gibbs took the paper and unfolded it. He grumbled when he tried reading it and Tony became even more nervous, rubbing at the back of his neck. "I, uh, I can read it for you."

"No! I'll manage," Gibbs muttered, unwilling to admit his 'weakness'. Then his eyes widened and he stared at Tony. "Really?" he asked quietly and Tony nodded, with a shrug.

"Thought it'd be the right thing to do... Never liked being _Junior_. Not his anyway. It is the right name, is it? Anthony Jethro Gibbs?"

Gibbs smiled softly and took Tony's hand in his, his fingers trembling slightly. "It is..."

Tony looked relieved and then he made a face. "Although I did keep Anthony, because it's what I was named as from the very beginning, I don't want to ever be called that."

And Gibbs couldn't agree with it more. It brought too many unwanted thoughts and memories for them both. "Tony is just fine. In fact, it is more than fine. At least I don't have to change the name of the boat."

Tony stared and then he looked stunned. "You... You named a boat after me?"

Gibbs nodded, looking with sadness and realization that no one most likely had ever done anything like that—big or small—to his kid. It broke his heart again and yet he still wanted to find out more about Tony's life, both good and bad. But not now. Not today.

Tony grinned and stood up. "Wow. That's... awesome. Can I see it?"

"It's your boat."

" _My_ boat?" The smile fell and Tony faltered. "But... I know nothing about boats. The last boat I owned is at the bottom of a lake. You better keep this one far away from me."

"You'll learn."

"I'm hopeless."

"I'll teach."

"Do I have to spell it out to you? I'm not good with boats. I set my friend's yacht on fire last summer. You don't want me anywhere near that boat."

Gibbs shrugged. "Then we'll just make a new boat if that happens."

"A new..." Tony ran after Gibbs when the old man left the kitchen. "What do you mean _we_? I don't know how to build a boat. Any boat I'll build, would only sink like a rock or break down into pieces in the water."

Gibbs stopped for a moment and he stared at the honest and pure worry and fear of messing things up. He regretted for a moment that he had already killed DiNozzo... Putting his arm around the young man, he smiled. "I will teach you, you will learn and even if you do mess up, that's fine. We will keep trying until you get things right. Got it?"

"Yeah... Sure..." Tony smiled nervously, looking more terrified than happy, and the two of them disappeared in the basement.

They had a very long road ahead of them, plenty of hard work and plenty of moments where two strong personalities would end up in some big collision more than enough, but after each storm they came out with even stronger bond than before.

After a couple of months getting to know each other, Tony finally moved his growing business and life in D.C., which made Gibbs very happy. But the old man wasn't pleased that the young man refused to move in with him. Instead he bought a house next door. Not close enough for Gibbs, but it had to do. At least for now his son was spending most of his time with him anyway. Some people still called Tony by his full name—Anthony—but most of them learned soon to not do it ever again. Ducky was not one of them... And while it for some time pissed off Gibbs and made Tony feel uncomfortable, there came a day when it no longer meant anything to them. It was just that, a name.

Ten years later was when the life was finally good for both men. Tony had become close even with Ducky and Abby and he was spending most of his own work time with Gibbs and helping the man with his NCIS cases. That had brought a whole new set of issues at first with Gibbs' own team, who had treated him like some jealous bunch of kids and showed it through some brutal ways. They didn't last long in the team and NCIS after that.

As for what they did with the money Shannon had put away... Neither wanted to see any of it and it all went straight to some charity, without them ever even looking at the amount of money there was. Although, they did receive a huge gift basket and a thank you card.

And every once in a while, one of them or both, dreamed about their family, about the life they would have had, but it no longer made them feel sad when they woke up and found out it wasn't real. Gibbs had the memories and Tony had the stories and they both had each other. And while in a perfect world they would have it all, they were happy that they now finally had each other.

_**The End** _


End file.
